16 hours in the ER

Beep, bing, beep, bing,ding, ding, ding... Trauma Arriving! The emergency room is one of complete sensory overload. It was great (read sarcastically) to be back here with my mom.

It had been a wonderful morning. The weather was great, finally. I had my cup of tea on the deck and I was talking to my boy. He had a rough week, I had a rough week. We had talked sporadically throughout the week, but I had so much going on we hadn't had time to just talk. We had been talking for awhile when my caller ID told me "Grandma Annette". I put Eric on hold and answered the call. My day changed in an instant.

"You are going to hate me. I did it again. I am in the emergency room." Turns out Mom went for a walk. She didn't get far, just a couple blocks. For an unknown reason, she simply collapsed and pitched herself into the bushes. A good samaritan found her. He woke her up and brought her back to her apartment where her friends called 911. Our new friend Dan went back to the scene of the crime to recover her phone and glasses and back again to find the missing glass lens.

Honestly, at the time of the call I had no idea what to do with Joe. Who did I call? Who could potentially arrive quickest? Could I wait? I was not willing to wait so I put him in the car with me and off we went.

After multiple tests, blood draws etc, a repeat CT scan was scheduled for six hours later. There was a minor brain bleed that needed to be evaluated. So after 6 hours in the ER, I texted and found someone to be with Joe. Drove home, dropped him off, grabbed things to keep me busy and drove back.

You know or maybe you don't the pace of the ER. You are the center of attention and then it is hurray up and wait. The 8:30pm CT scan, ended up being the 11:15pm CT scan. Two people told us she would stay the night, two people told us the decision would be based on the CT scan.

I shouldn't have brought my bag to keep me busy. I had trouble concentrating on my work. Instead I watched the life of the ER. I saw nurses, aides doctors, techs, transport who all dealt with people with so much compassion. I watched a homeless man discharged to his recovery coach with a "Good luck my friend". EMTs brought transport after transport through. Being in the room near the nurses station, I frequently saw and heard the EMTs tell the nurses the story, the vitals, the details. I saw the nurses listen and writing down the details. Gowns went on, gloves on, various other things went into and came out of the rooms. Police walked by both hospital and from towns far and wide. I mean really no wonder there are so many medical shows.

Yet with everything I saw, every single person who came and took care of my mother gave her their full attention while in the room. She was seen by residents, fellows, nurses, NPs, trauma, neurosurgery, aides, transport. The list of who took care of her in her 16 hours in a long one. Yet each and every one took care of her with love and with care. Each one had her best interest in her care while they were with her.

As we are about a year and a half into this pandemic, I know all of our first responders and emergency room workers are tired, and perhaps exhausted. But all I saw in my time were people who cared for complete strangers and did it with so much love and care.

Mom is out of the hospital and we are still waiting results and figuring out what really happened. I am exhausted by my time in the ER both physically and emotionally. But again, I am amazed at the people who put themselves out there. They have taken on jobs and careers that have emotinally depleted them in this pandemic, yet they still love and they still care.